Soundtrack to My Life
by queenybee
Summary: Follow up to "Cups". Establishing that Lisa can sing in "Cups", these will be short stories of Lisa using songs to express her thoughts and feelings. Will be updated when inspiration hits.
1. Because of You

Two weeks had passed since Rick had rescued Lisa from the destruction on Alaska Base. After their return there had not been much opportunity to see Lisa as she was whisked away as soon as they had landed back on the SDF-1. She barely had a chance to thank Rick for saving her life before she was ushered away to see the council and Admiral Gloval. He thought he would get a chance to catch up with her afterward but Lisa's time was wholly taken up by the rescue efforts on Earth to find and aid survivors and to deal with the Zentraedi who's ships had crash landed on Earth. He didn't begrudge the work that she did knowing how important it was, but wished that she could find a little time for him. He sighed knowing that there was nothing that he could do and prepared himself for patrol. Max and Ben caught up with him as they left the pilot's locker room for the hangar. "Hey Boss, how things going?" asked Max.

"Just fine Max, just fine," said Rick a bit glumly.

Hearing the dejected tone in Rick's voice, Max and Ben looked at one another. They couldn't quite figure out what was wrong with their leader. He had been ecstatic after his return to the ship and his rescue of their commanding officer but since then he'd been a little morose. They weren't sure if it was because Commander Hayes hadn't returned to her position as the Air Tactical Controller since her return or because patrols had kept him from going into Macross City to see his long time crush Minmei Lynn. They tried to cheer him up suggesting that they head into Macross City after their patrol and wind down a bit. Rick told them he would think about and they climbed into the Veritech fighters and the Skull Squadron took off through the grey skies to start their patrols for the day.

The mass destruction and desolation of the planet following Dolza's attack did not better Rick's mood and after the patrol, he cried off from heading off with his friends into the city. Miriya also tried to ask Rick to change his mind but he just wasn't in the mood and decided to just head back to his quarters for the night.

Rick reached his quarters and opened the door to the tiny space, room enough for a loft bed with a desk under it, small couch and chair and a galley kitchen with mini fridge. Throwing his stuff onto the chair he noticed a blinking light by his telephone indicating he had a message. Wondering if the base had called and left him a message, he walked over to the phone, picked up the receiver and dialed the voicemail code.

"You have one message, " said the automated voice over the phone, "Listen now?"

Rick responded yes and waited for the message to play. "Rick, this is Commander Hayes, um ah.. Lisa. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to call you since we've gotten back but well I think you would understand if I said, I've been really really busy. Anyway, I'd like to meet with you sometime if you have time and just talk or have coffee...and umm, I'd like to get the chance to thank you again for saving me... Just let me know if you'd be interested and we can setup a time. Uh, thanks and talk to you soon." Rick smiled as he heard her message, as calm, collected and in command Lisa was at work, she sounded so awkward and unsure of herself on the phone just then and it made him feel better to know that she hadn't forgotten him.

Feeling a bit better about things and not really knowing why Rick returned Lisa's call and getting her voicemail, suggested a time and date for them to meet. He hoped that she would be able to make it and that work and duty wouldn't steal her away.

A couple of days later, Rick ran into Claudia in the hallway of the base as she as she was leaving Colonel Maistroff's office. She suggested to Rick that they have a drink together and Rick followed her to officer's lounge where Claudia took deep breath and tried to relax.

"You look tired Claudia, you need to get more rest. Roy wouldn't like you working so hard."

"Thanks Rick, I appreciate your concern, unfortunately with everything in disarray, there is really no choice but to do everything that one can."

"Hmm, I guess your're right."

Noting the slight dejected tone in Rick's voice, she decided to probe about Rick's feelings for Lisa. "So have you seen our resident supergirl lately?"

"No, not yet, we've been playing phone tag lately trying to setup some time to just get together and talk but there never seems to be a good time. I know it's selfish of me, but I want a get a chance to talk to her and talk about what happened in Alaska... I.. I just want to see that she's alright."

Claudia, happy to hear that Rick wasn't as indifferent to Lisa as everyone believed including Lisa herself, decided that Rick needed to hear how Lisa was doing, not out of pity but because Lisa needed someone else in her life besides the bridge crew to care for her. She also remembered all Lisa had done for her when Roy had died and how she stayed and helped Claudia through those first few weeks without him.

Claudia looked at Rick and her eyes became a bit sad. Rick seeing the look in Claudia's eyes, asked her what was wrong and Claudia leaned closer to Rick to confide in him, not wanting others to overhear what she had to say.

"Rick, Lisa's been having a hard time since she's gotten back. As usual she is a superstar when it comes to work, but she's been having nightmares and feels extremely guilty for surviving when others didn't. Lisa saw her father's death over the communications channel when the Grand Cannon exploded. What makes this all worse is that there have been some unkind comments made about Lisa about how and why she survived Alaska Base when others didn't. Somehow word of her survival also reached the people of Macross as well as they have not been kind to her when she's had to go to the city to quell some of the uprisings from the people or to explain the plans to get people off the ship and back onto land. Rick, I'm telling you this because I think you care about her too, not just as your commanding officer but as her friend. Help her open up about this, she needs to talk about it and not let it bottle up inside of her. I know she trusts you Rick."

Rick thanked Claudia for the information but didn't know how we could help Lisa when he never got a chance to see her to even talk to her. Claudia sensing Rick's frustration let him know Lisa's schedule and gave him one last tidbit. "Check the music room sometimes, she might be there. She's been going to play the piano a lot there in order to unwind."

Rick and Claudia finished their drinks and talked a bit more before heading their separate ways, they made a promise to make more time for each other as well as Rick wanted to be there for his big brother's girlfriend.

It was another day or two before Rick decided to look for Lisa on his own instead of trying to find a time that worked for them. He had just finished a patrol and was still a little keyed up even though it was about 1:30am in the morning. The 24 hour round the clock working schedule had everyone's body out of whack and Rick decided to stop by Lisa's quarters to see if she was there. He knocked on her door and wasn't surprised that there wasn't an answer and he called the base to see if whether or not she was still on duty. Hearing that she had left not ½ an hour ago, Rick decided to check the music room as Claudia suggested. Rick went down two levels from the ships quarters to the level where the troops and soldiers could hang out and relax, play pool, board games and other activities to pass the time. Usually the level was quite busy but at this time of the night there were few people on the level, talking in small groups and low whispers. Most people didn't feel like there was much to celebrate lately but did their best to keep morale up by hanging out with their friends.

Rick nodded his greeting to some of the pilots playing pool in one corner of the main room. He headed back to the other smaller rooms used for more individual activities or private groups. As he walked down the hall he could hear the sounds of a piano being played and knew that he most likely found his elusive friend. Rick approached the room quietly, knocked on the door and gently pushed the door open. Lisa looked over to see who had entered and smiled at Rick when he entered the room. "Lisa, do you mind if I come in?"

"Rick, not at all, I'm really happy to see you." Lisa came up to him and gave him a hug. He hugged her back, just holding her for a few minutes. He felt the tension from his body fade as he held Lisa in her arms and wondered why she seemed to have that affect on him.

"Claudia told me you might be here, shouldn't you be getting some rest?"

Lisa shook her head, "No, you know how it is, when you have something to do and you can't rest until you do it? Well this has been bothering me the last couple of weeks and I hope that this will help me put some of my ghosts to rest."

"Is there something I can help you with?" asked Rick. Lisa thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, maybe you can help." Lisa explained what she wanted Rick to do and then she took her place behind the piano. Lisa nodded her head to Rick and Rick pressed a button on Lisa's laptop as she started to play the opening cords to a melody he had never heard before and a slideshow of old photos started to display of Lisa and her family as Lisa started to sing.

On the laptop, old family photos of young Lisa with her mother and father appeared, showing the family's happier times. Photo of a young Lisa and her father at a gravesite bowing their heads. A single photo of Admiral Hayes sitting in a chair with this head bowed down holding his head in grief with a young Lisa trying to comfort him. Another photo displayed - a formal family photo of Lisa, her mom and dad, followed by another family photo taken a few years later of Lisa and just her father.

Photos of a teenage Lisa and a young man Karl Riber. A Photo of Lisa holding up her left hand showing off an engagement ring next to her smiling face. A photo of a newspaper article with the title – Tragedy Strikes Mars Base Sara – No Survivors. More photos of Lisa in her formal cadet uniform at the Memorial service for Mars Base being supported on one side by her father and another couple (Karl's parents), a final photo of Lisa kneeling in front of a casket with her head bowed down on the casket crying.

Photo of Lisa at her Academy graduation saluting her father as he hands her her diploma, photo of Lisa shaking hands with Captain Gloval at her acceptance to join the SDF-1. Lisa in front of a VF-1, saluting.

Happier photos of Lisa, Claudia and the bridge crew on various vacations , generals snapshots of them shopping, eating out together

More photos of Lisa and the Admiral Hayes at various functions. Lisa appears in some wearing evening dress while in others in dress uniform. A single photo where Lisa and the Admiral are both smiling into the camera

A final photo of Lisa and her father displayed, both in dress uniform, with Lisa in salute to her father]

As the last chord died and Lisa ended her last note, there was silence in the room. Rick leaned over and clicked "stop recording" on the laptop. He couldn't help but hear Lisa's pain in her heartbroken song and found himself wiping tears from his eyes. All the pain and anguish Lisa felt could be heard in that one song and he realized how little he knew about Lisa and how much more he felt connected to her after seeing her montage of photos.

He looked over at Lisa, who sat on the piano bench in silence. He didn't know what to say to her but it felt awkward just sitting in silence.

It was Lisa who finally broke the silence, "Thank you Rick, I'm glad you were here with me, I really need to get that off my chest."

Rick couldn't hold back and had to ask, "Lisa, your song, was beautiful but so sad, what is the video for?"

Lisa got up from the piano bench and took a seat next to Rick on the couch in the room. She took a deep breath before answering and said, "It's my way of saying goodbye. I didn't really ever get a chance to say goodbye to my mother, my father or to Karl and I never realized how much if affected me. I'd been toying with this song and lyrics for a while but it wasn't until I realized I was alone in this world that I felt the urge to finish it, to sing it, to say goodbye to those I loved and put my past behind me. As you may have been able to tell from the song and the photos my father and I had a difficult relationship, but even so I know he loved me despite our disagreements. As for the video, it will go in with my official military files. With no one left, there will be no one to remember me by when I am gone and I don't want to leave this world without leaving something of me behind. One day some historian may come across this file, see my photos and hear my song and hopefully wonder a bit about who I was and not be just another name and rank." Lisa took another deep breath, "I've been alone too long Rick, and I hope to change that after all this is over. " Lisa wasn't ready to admit her feelings for the young pilot and she was still emotionally numb over the loss of her father and the destruction and death she saw at Alaska Base.

Rick understood how lost and alone Lisa felt as he felt the same way after Roy had died. It had been Lisa who had been there to stand next to him and hold his hand during Roy's funeral service and it had been Lisa who had made sure he moved forward to take his place as Skull Squadron Leader as well. Rick wrapped his arm around her and said soothingly, "You're not alone Lisa, you have me, Claudia, Sammie, Vanessa and Kim and even Captain Gloval as your family now. I hope you know that we are all there for you and anytime you need to talk, I'll be there for you."

"Thanks Rick, I really appreciate that.. " Lisa said sincerely. The two packed up Lisa's things and Rick walked her back to the quarters. Lisa apologized for the emotionally heavy evening and promised to make it up to Rick the next time. He smiled and made her promise that he got to choose their next activity. He was happy to see that get a laugh of out Lisa and the two made plans to have coffee or dinner together as soon as possible.

Things became a little less hectic on the SDF-1 after that first month. Satellite communications around the globe were reestablished thanks to Breetai and the Zentraedi ships still located in their atmosphere. With radiation levels on the planet still fairly high, the citizens of Macross settled back into their routine on the SDF-1 as they waited for the day they could return to the surface and start rebuilding their lives. The search and processing of survivors were put in place and the government aboard the SDF-1 did everything they could to ensure that each region was equipped to handle the pockets of survivors that were out there that needed their help. With some sense of normalcy and routine in place, it became easier for Rick and Lisa to become closer over the next few months.

* * *

Song - "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson.


	2. Part of this World

Six months had passed since Dolza's attack and the crew of the SDF-1 continued the round the clock work of humanitarian relief and protection for the few million survivors of the devastating attack. They were supported by Breetai and the Zentraedi that have aligned themselves with the SDF-1 during the final battle and the aid that they provided during reconstruction allowed progress to move faster than before. The RDF staff was tired and overworked but knew the importance in continuing their efforts if they wanted a chance for humanity to survive.

Commander Lisa Hayes walked into the bridge conference room, where she found Sammie, Kim , Vanessa and Claudia gathered around the large table discussing the latest base gossip. Lisa paid little attention to the gossiping Trio and sat down next to Claudia, who smiled at her as Lisa set a cup of tea in front of her.

Sammie finally noticing that Lisa had set down, started, "Good, I'm glad you're here. Before the general meeting starts, do you think we can make some decisions around what we are going to do for Children's Day?"

Lisa smiled at Sammie's suggestion and readily agreed. She was excited about the event and had pitched it to Admiral Gloval and the Macross Mayor Tommy Luan as a way to boost morale of the citizens that were still living on the SDF-1 and to do something for the children that were impacted by the war. There was an influx of young children that had lost their parents and those that could not be cared for within their own community were transferred to the SDF-1 for care. Unfortunately, the planning and execution of the event was taken over by the mayor's office as the military staff had too much on their plate already. Military personnel were asked to participate in the event and many people had volunteered to help out at the event or provide some sort of entertainment for the children.

Sammie continued, "As you know the event is only two weeks away and we haven't agreed on what we are going to do. Any ideas?"

"How about dressing up as famous historical women, there are so many wonderful women we could choose from." suggested Lisa. "It would also be educational for the children. "

Kim and Vanessa pouted, they thought Lisa's idea was too boring but liked the idea of dressing up. Vanessa perked up "I have an idea! How about we dress up as fairytale princesses? There are a ton of them in the storybooks and should be easily to pull off. I know a costume designer that could help us with the outfits."

Kim excited by the idea added, "Oh and I know one of the mechanics is a great artist and can help design some murals to create a storybook setting."

Sammie chimed in, "Oh I like that idea, that sounds like so much fun."

"But, but, don't you think that it's a bit girly? What about the boys, they aren't going to be much interested in visiting princesses," argued Lisa, finding the selection a bit frivolous.

Claudia interjected, "I took a look at the events, and the pilots are showing off their veritechs and there are going to be a lot of carnival games and rides. I think that this would be entirely appropriate and may help some of the younger kids traumatized by the war gain back some of the magic of childhood."

Lisa seeing Claudia's point grumbled a bit but reluctantly agreed to participate. "So who are we all going to be?"

That opened up a flurry of conversation between the Trio and some arguments about who should be Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White. Claudia and Lisa just smiled at each other and rolled their eyes. Lisa didn't know much about the princesses being much more into her music when she was younger and didn't really have any thought or care about who she should dress up as. Claudia annoyed with the arguments, put her hands up and said, "Ladies, stop, I have an idea… why don't we put the names of the princesses in a bag and everyone just pull a name and that is who you will dress up as."

Sammie, Vanessa and Kim conferred with one another and agreed to the plan. Pulling out a set of sticky notes, Sammie wrote the name of a princess on each one and Vanessa grabbed a bowl from a side table in the conference room and Sammie dropped the pieces of paper in it. Holding the bowl out to Lisa and Claudia they both pulled a piece of paper out of the bowl. Claudia opened hers and read "Jasmine" and Lisa opened her and read out, "Ariel" Lisa groaned, she may not know much about princesses but knew that "Ariel" was the name of the Little Mermaid. She watched as Sammie called out "Belle", Kim called out "Snow White" and Vanessa called out "Cinderella." The girls chatted excitedly about their roles and Lisa asked if anyone of them wanted to switch with her. All the girls shook their head and quieted down as others attending the staff meeting started to trickle in.

At the end of the meeting and everyone had adjourned except for Claudia, Sammie, Vanessa and Kim. "Good job girls," Claudia said with a wink. They all smiled back and laughed to themselves knowing that their plan had worked and that they had been able to trick Lisa into playing Ariel. The four of them had planned this ahead of time knowing they wouldn't get Lisa to agree to dress up as a princess and decided this was the best method to get her to agree. They had rigged the princess selection and Sammie had written Ariel on all the slips of paper so that Lisa would have no choice while everyone called out their own princess choice. It was an ingenious plan and the girls were proud they were able to pull one over on Lisa.

Later that day as Lisa and Claudia sat down to a cup of tea after a long work day, Lisa looked over at Claudia and pulled out the pink slip of paper that she picked from the bowl and playing with it, she glanced at her friend who had a smile on her face. "They pulled a fast one on me didn't they." Claudia laughed and took a sip of her tea before responding and said, "Yes they did." Lisa laughed, she wasn't mad at the Trio and silently applauded them for their creativity.

* * *

The day of the event was filled with excitement. Everyone on the base and in the city had worked hard all week to transform a large unused section of the SDF-1 into an amusement park. Carnival rides that were used during the opening ceremonies of the SDF-1 were recovered from salvage and mechanics had worked hard to help fix the rides and make them available for the day. The plan was to make them a permanent fixture in the SDF-1 until the citizens can be moved off the space fortress. Interspersed through the rides were food and drink vendors, there were face painters, balloon animal makers, and clowns on stilts. The pilots had an area where the different Veritech's were displayed and the pilots created shifts to be able to man the station as well as give them some time to enjoy the fair as well. While geared for the kids, the atmosphere of the day felt like it was a day of fun for everyone, not just the kids although they were the main focus.

As for the bridge crew, a winding path was created with little alcoves decorated with appropriate princess's theme. Sammie as Belle was dressed in an elaborate golden ballgown and her hair was piled on top of her head. Her background scene was a ballroom with a beautiful night sky and music played behind her. The kids were going to pose with them and be able to take photos with their favorite princesses and at 10am, 2pm and 5pm, were going to do a little storytelling for the kids.

Kim, who made a wonderful Snow White, had a woodland scene with a small cottage painted in the background and many small painted animals around her. Woodland sounds filled the air in her area and occasionally the sounds of the dwarfs mining could be heard and Kim would pause and tell the children about the dwarfs and how kind they were to her.

Vanessa, dressed in a white and silver ballgown and a glass slipper in her hand and her background scene had a castle at the top of hill and had a large ceramic pumpkin that looked like a carriage nearby and in the background beautiful music playing, with a clock sound ticking and striking midnight after each melody was played.

Claudia dressed in more conservative Arabian harem costume gained a lot of attention with the flowing black wig she wore. Her background scene was set in the castle with the desert sands being seen by its windows, rich tapestries graced the floor and Claudia herself had a flying carpet, engineered by Dr. Lang's team to appear as if it could fly. A large animatronic tiger was also present, which growled and purred to the children much to their delight.

It was Lisa's transformation to the Little Mermaid that captured everyone's attention. The trio oohed and ahhed, when Lisa finally came out of the dressing room in her outfit. Lisa had surprised everyone and had her long honey brown hair dyed a beautiful red color. Dr. Lang assured her the color was only temporary and would wash out quite easily even though the color was so rich. Lisa had used her own bra and sewing skills to create her top, not trusting the Trio to come up with her costume. Lisa and constructed a seashell top using her bra as a foundation and using shell necklaces she wove them into her long hair and draped them around her neck. It was her mermaid body that made the costume as it looked incredibly realistic. Dr. Lang's team had created the sheath and covered it with a material that looked wet but was dry and that shimmered under the lights as Lisa moved her legs up and down. It was uncomfortable to walk in the outfit and Lisa was to spend her day perched on a large created rock. Her background was a beach scene with a seaside castle perched on a hill with a shipwreck washed on the beach. Perched on the rock, in a deep blue sea, Lisa would flip her fins and invite the children to sit with her and tell them stories about her life in the sea. Everyone thought she made a very realistic mermaid and Sammie was so pleased that Lisa put so much effort into her costume. The women were such a hit with the children that throughout the day, not only were children coming in to pose with their favorite princesses but teenage girls and grown women came in as well to take photos with their princesses.

Rick, Max and Miriya had just finished their own shift with the Veritech's and had signed autographs and taken pictures with many kids who saw the Skull Squadron as their heroes and most of the boys and some of the girls wanted to be just like them when they grew up. Miriya had been fascinated with the children and were amazed at their curiosity and resiliency and especially found the infants and toddlers quite interesting and was determined to ask Max if it was possible for them to create one for themselves.

Rick used to the attention as it was similar to attention he would get at the airshows but was beat at the end of the shift.

"Whew, glad we are done with that, so what's next?" said Rick.

Miriya in awe of everything that she had seen provided as entertainment for the children wanted to see everything and ride every ride. The three of them worked through the park until they came to the forested path with a large wooden sign directing them to the Princesses. Miriya knew that this was where her friends were and was curious to see these "Princesses." She was unfamiliar with the fairytales and was enchanted as she walked along the path with Max and Rick and saw the magical world that was created. Max and Rick were also impressed with the transformation and were sets that the bridge officers were set in and content to wander down the path as Miriya stopped at each Princess to observe the outfits, hear their story and take a photo with them. As they left Claudia as Jasmine, with Miriya ahead of them, Max slyly asked Rick, "So what's Commander Hayes's costume?" Rick nonchalantly responded that he didn't know and that Lisa had kept it a secret from him. He had tried to wheedle it out of her, but he hadn't been able to pry it out of her or Claudia or the usually gossiping Trio and was actually excited to see what Princess she was as he never really saw her out of her officer's uniform. All of a sudden Rick and Max heard a squeal of excitement from Miriya as she hurried down the path and stopped right down the alcove where Lisa was. Rick and Max with a look at one another, ran down the path to Miriya wondering if the sound they had heard had actually come from Miriya. Laughing as they hit end the end of the path to where Miriya had stopped they looked in the scene in front of them.

Rick's jaw dropped when he surveyed the scene before him. He couldn't believe that the mermaid in front of him was the Lisa that he knew and had to keep himself from not staring at her and tampering down any impure thoughts that ran through his head. The seashell bikini top she wore did little to cover her taut abs and well-toned arms and her skin glistened as it was dusted with a subtle glitter. Her long hair was wavy and bouncy and although he thought she looked incredibly sexy with the red hair, he preferred her natural hair color. Lisa was seated on her rock and in front of her were a troupe of 3-4 year old boys and girls from the orphanage, escorted by their caregivers. Lisa was telling the wide eyed group of kids a story about her life as a princess under the sea and one cute little girl in the front who had sat enthralled during Lisa's story, slowly inched her way up closer and closer to where Lisa was sitting. Lisa who noticed the little girl leaned down and pulled her up into her lap as she finished her story. Rick was surprised to see Lisa so natural with the children and didn't notice Claudia come up behind him still dressed in her harem outfit. She didn't want to miss seeing Rick's reaction in observing Lisa. "She volunteers at the care center y'know." Rick hearing Claudia but not taking his eyes off of Lisa said, "Really? I didn't know that. When does she have time?"

"Oh she makes time, even if it's an hour or two she tries to get over there as much as she can to read to the kids or to teach them songs."

It didn't surprise Rick that Lisa made time for the children under the SDF-1's care. She always seem to have time for him when he needed to vent to someone one, or talk to about Minmei. Lost in thought, he was pulled from his trance when he heard the kids clamoring for Lisa to sing them a song. Gently putting the girl back down, Lisa agreed to sing, if the kids behaved and not having any accompanying music, Lisa started to sing in a clear voice "Part of Your World".

Rick who loved to hear Lisa sing even though she didn't do it often, couldn't take his eyes off of her as she sang the song and repositioning herself on the rock in order to better hit the high notes.

Up where they walk

Up where they talk

Up where they stay all day in the sun,

Wandering free, wish I could be part of that world

Lisa continued to sing and looked at the children in front of her:

Bet'cha on land they understand

And they don't reprimand their daughters

Bright young women, sick of swimming

Ready to stand..

As Lisa finished her song, Rick could see tears in her eyes and wondered if the song had some significance to her. Miriya waited until the children left and ran up to Lisa and compliment her on the outfit and her song. "Commander, I was unaware that you were also a canary!"

Confused, Lisa looked at her friend and said, "Canary?"

"Yes, isn't that what humans who can sing are called? It's what Lt. Commander Grant calls Minmei all the time."

Lisa laughed and said, "Well not all of us are canaries. I stopped singing when I made the choice to join the military. I was amazed as you that song came out so easily for me."

Rick and Max had just, joined Miriya when they heard Miriya ask, "That song you sang, you had so much feeling in it. I could feel the want, the longing in your song."

Lisa blushed at her compliment and said to Miriya, "Thank you, I will admit that song does hold some memories for me. I think it showed how I felt growing up as I did, so restricted, with all my activities carefully planned. I wanted to break free and find my freedom and I was surprised as anyone when I decided to embrace the life that my father had envisioned for me. I'm glad you like it and I think that the song also can apply to your situation Miriya. Like Ariel, you left a life you knew to one that is as different as can be and gave up so much for it."

Miriya was thoughtful and said, "I would like to see this movie that is made about this Little Mermaid."

Max promised to find it for her and they quickly took a photo with Lisa on her rock before leaving her with Rick.

There were no other visitors at the time as the event organizers closed the path down to allow the women some lunch. Lisa felt the need to stretch her legs and pushed her finned legs out and moved them up and down, causing the tail to shimmer and shine. Rick couldn't keep his eyes off of her and Lisa didn't really notice as she tried to get up off the rock. Losing her balance she grabbed onto Rick and Rick who had been fantasizing about Lisa and her outfit, was startled when she grabbed him and the two fell down with Lisa laying on top of Rick.

"Rick I am so sorry, the mermaid tail, it threw me off balance, I think I lost some feeling in my legs." said Lisa stammering.

Rick looking up, with Lisa laying on top of him with her green eyes looking at him with concern and her red hair forming a curtain around them, couldn't help but just stare. Lisa tried to get up, but Rick held her in place, his hands on her waist.

"Rick?" Lisa asked biting her lip wondering if Rick was ok and if he had hit his head on the way down. "Are you okay?"

Rick finally coming to his senses and hearing her question, and realizing the improper position they were in, allowed Lisa to scoot off of him and as he stood up, he helped her regain her balance with her fins.

She smiled at him as he helped her up and then Rick said to her, "You look beautiful Lisa, and you sang beautifully too."

"Thanks Rick, I appreciate it. Why don't you stay and have some lunch with us, I know they brought in enough food."

Rick happy to spend time with Lisa agreed and the two enjoyed their lunch with their friends. All of them wondered why Rick and Lisa were taking so long to get together but seeing Rick notice Lisa in a different way, gave them hope that he would get it together and get over his crush Minmei soon.


End file.
